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Recent Webinars & Events

On July 23, 2015, the Alliance held a webinar featuring a School Improvement Grant (SIG)–approved evidence-based whole-school reform model developed by the Institute for Student Achievement (ISA), which gave school districts (both SIG-receiving and non–SIG-receiving) an overview of ISA’s effective high school reform model that could turn around their persistently low-performing high schools.

On Wednesday, June 24, 2015, The Alliance held a conversation between Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Gov. Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education.

In his latest book, Political Education: Setting the Course for State and Federal Policy, Christopher Cross examines how the federal role in education has changed from that of a second chair violist in the 1950s to an orchestra conductor today, with the federal government now responsible for directing everything from highly qualified teachers to assessments to accountability as part of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

On June 3, 2015, the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation held a discussion about Teachers Know Best: Making Data Work for Teachers and Students, a new report about how teachers use digital instructional tools and data to support student learning.

On May 18, 2015 the Alliance held a webinar on the politics of education reform with Jack Jennings, longtime education policy expert and author of a new book—Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools. Hosted by Bob Wise, their discussion examined the federal role in education and the prospects for fundamentally reshaping American education.

On Thursday, May 14, 2015, The Alliance for Excellent education held a webinar on promise programs. All across the country, cities and states have taken on a bold approach to college access—free college tuition for eligible students. These programs, called “promise programs” or “place-based college scholarships,” are currently active in more than forty cities and a handful of states. Promise programs inspire school improvement within secondary schools and create lasting partnerships and greater alignment between the K–12 and postsecondary systems that have led to promising outcomes for students who are historically underserved. Data show that low-income students and students of color enrolled in promise programs have higher high school graduation rates, college enrollment, and attainment than their peers.

On May 14, 2015, the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, in conjunction with the Alliance for Excellent Education, held a briefing on effective partnerships between business and industry and education that are transforming the high school experience for students and preparing them fully for college and a career.

On April 7, 2015 the Alliance held an in-depth discussion on how curriculum tools can help teachers implement college- and career-ready standards and raise levels of learning for students, particularly those who are low-performing. This webinar examined how these tools enable teachers to use their own curriculum based on student needs while aiming at common, high standards.

On March 17, 2015, the Alliance for Excellent Education, SHLB Coalition, New America, and Benton Foundation celebrated the five-year anniversary of the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan—and reviewed the community anchor institution broadband goals, accomplishments, and unfinished work.